Biometric sensors and imagers, including, e.g., fingerprint sensors and imagers like those disclosed in the present application are known in the art and are disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 7,099,496 to Benkley, issued Aug. 29, 2006, for SWIPED APERTURE CAPACITIVE FINGERPRINT SENSING SYSTEMS AND METHODS; U.S. Pat. No. 7,463,756 to Benkley, issued Dec. 9, 2009, for FINGER POSITION SENSING METHODS AND APPARATUS; U.S. Pat. No. 8,165,355 to Benkley, issued Apr. 24, 2012, for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FINGERPRINT MOTION TRACKING USING AN IN-LINE ARRAY FOR USE IN NAVIGATION APPLICATIONS; U.S. Pat. No. 7,751,601 to Benkley, issued Jul. 6, 2010, for FINGER SENSING ASSEMBLIES AND METHODS OF MAKING; and US Patent Application Publication Nos. US2011/0304001, published Dec. 15, 2011, entitled FINGERPRINT SENSING CIRCUIT; US2012/0189166 published Jul. 26, 2012, entitled USER INPUT UTILIZING DUAL LINE SCANNER APPARATUS AND METHOD; and US2012/0256280, published Oct. 11, 2012, entitled PACKAGING FOR FINGERPRINT SENSOR AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE. As these types of sensors are used in more and more forms of portable/mobile computing/communications devices, such as cell phones, Blackberries, and other forms of personal digital assistants (“PDAS”), electronic pads, tablets, notebooks, etc. (collectively “portable computing devices”), there is a need for both a more miniaturized, especially thinner, and durable sensor device.
Such sensors have also been incorporated into and/or integrated with such user portable/mobile computing/communications devices and, in particular can be integrated with a button on such a user device that performs some other function for the user device other than gathering biometric data for user authentication or other uses. It has become important, therefore, for such sensors, when so incorporated/integrated, to be durable and able to survive somewhat extreme conditions of stress, as an example, during failure testing, such as drop testing, and then later while in actual use. The present application addresses various aspects of this need in the art.
Since its inception, fingerprint sensing technology has revolutionized biometric identification and authentication processes. In most cases, a single fingerprint can be used to uniquely identify an individual in a manner that cannot be easily replicated or imitated. The ability to capture and store fingerprint image data in a digital file of minimal size has yielded immense benefits in fields such as law enforcement, forensics, and information security.
However, the widespread adoption of fingerprint sensing technology in a broad range of applications has faced a number of obstacles. Among these obstacles is the need for a separate and distinct apparatus for capturing a fingerprint image. Additionally, such components are often impractical for use in systems that are designed to be of minimal size or weight. As handheld devices begin to take on a greater range of functionality and more widespread use, engineers and designers of such devices are constantly seeking ways to maximize sophistication and ease of use while minimizing size and cost. Typically, such devices only incorporate input/output components that are deemed to be essential to core functionality, e.g., a screen, and a limited set of buttons.
For these reasons, fingerprint-based authentication techniques have not replaced username and password authentication in the most common information security applications such as email, online banking, and social networking. Paradoxically, the growing amount of sensitive information Internet users are entrusting to remote computer systems has intensified the need for authentication procedures more reliable than password-based techniques.
An electronic device having a button interface with built-in fingerprint sensing capability would thus lead to increased adoption of fingerprint-based authentication. As will be seen, the present disclosure provides such a system that overcomes obstacles associated with incorporating a fingerprint sensor into an electronic device button interface.